Great Women in History Lesson Plan: Women’s Rights and Female Historical Figures

Great Women in History Lesson Plan: Women’s Rights and Female Historical Figures

June 7, 2011

Submitted by:
Angela Watson

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

In this Great Women in History lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades 3-12, students use BrainPOP resources to explore how women’s rights have evolved throughout history. Students will select an important woman in history and identify key accomplishments in her life, then share research findings through a presentation and/or web 2.0 tools.

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

Grade: 11-12

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Grade: 11-12

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.8

Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

Grade: 11-12

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.6

With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.7

Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.8

Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.6

With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7

Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.8

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.6

With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.7

Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.8

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Grade: 06

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.6

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.

Grade: 06

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.7

Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.

Grade: 06

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.8

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.

Grade: 06

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Grade: 07

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.6

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.

Grade: 07

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.7

Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.

Grade: 07

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.8

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Grade: 07

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Grade: 08

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.6

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Grade: 08

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.7

Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

Grade: 08

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.8

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Grade: 08

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Grade: 09, 10

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Grade: 09, 10

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.7

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Grade: 09, 10

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.8

Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Grade: 09, 10

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Students will:

Explore how women's rights have evolved throughout history.

Select an important woman in history and identify key accomplishments in her life.

Share research findings through a presentation and/or web 2.0 tools.

Materials:

Access to BrainPOP and a projector

Vocabulary:

Preparation:

Create the guidelines for your students' research projects: determine which sources beyond BrainPOP you would like students to consult (if any) and which presentation tools students may use to share their findings. Presentation choices might include a PowerPoint, blog entry, VoiceThread, video (either filmed with a digital camera/video recorder or created with a program like iMovie), comic (such as those created with Toondoo), or another web 2.0 tool.

Lesson Procedure:

Screen the Women's Suffrage and/or the Feminism movie to build students' background knowledge on how women's rights have evolved over time.

Facilitate discussion around these two movies using their FYI features. Why is it important to acknowledge the struggles and contributions of women?

Show the Women's History Spotlight to the class. This page displays all BrainPOP movies on important women in history. If you have younger students (grades 3-4) or children working below grade level, you may want to allow them to choose from the BrainPOP Jr. movies on women in history.

Ask students to work alone, in pairs, or in groups to select and research an important woman in history using one of the BrainPOP movies listed on the spotlight page. Tell the class they will be presenting their findings to the class, and provide options for doing so.

Provide time in class or at home for students to conduct their research. They should watch the BrainPOP movie on their chosen historical figure and read through the FYI features and Q&A to learn more information. Include the use of other research tools if desired.